James' World 2

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In 1985, Atlantic Records released one of the best hits collections ever compiled, Aretha Franklin’s 30 Greatest Hits. Covering just the years 1967 through 1974, it features one immortal track after another, songs the radio hasn’t really stopped playing since their release — some of which have come to define a whole era. But if there’s a problem with having a couple of-dozen-and-change hits that everyone knows, it’s that they can overshadow everything else an artist recorded. 30 Greatest Hits and its streaming-era descendants like Spotify’s “This Is Aretha Franklin” playlist understandably lean heavily on Franklin’s best-known tracks, as does the new Jennifer Hudson-starring biopic Respect. But you could wipe them from existence and still be left with a remarkable body of work. So consider this list a kind of alternate universe version of 30 Greatest Hits, an imaginary album beamed in from a world in which “Respect” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” never existed or at least took a back seat to some of the album tracks, one-off singles, and unreleased-in-their-time tunes featured here.

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Aretha Franklin performs in Los Angeles, May 16, 1975.Getty Images

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It’s a concert to mark the resilience of a city.

Some of music’s biggest names will descend on the Great Lawn at New York City’s iconic Central Park for the “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” on Saturday to perform for a vaccinated crowd of 60,000.

The concert is meant to be “a celebration of New York City’s comeback” after a challenging 17 months marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and will “promote health, safety, and equity,” according to a press release for the show.

The event, which is being aired exclusively on CNN, is produced by legendary music executive Clive Davis in coordination with the city of New York and Live Nation. The coverage begins with a pre-show hosted by Anderson Cooper at 4 p.m. ET, with the concert kicking off at 5pm.

The performers

Andrea Bocelli, Kane Brown, LL Cool J, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jennifer Hudson, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Rob Thomas, Carlos Santana, The Killers, Julia Michaels, and JP Saxe, Barry Manilow, Jon Batiste, Elvis Costello, Lucky Daye, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Cynthia Erivo, Wyclef Jean, Journey, Maluma, Polo G, and the New York Philharmonic. There will be some surprise performers taking the stage as well.

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© Mark Davis/WireImage

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Stephen Colbert is punchy.

It is the first night of his second week back with a live studio audience doing CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” at the Ed Sullivan Theater. He’s still on an adrenaline high from his return to the 400-seat Broadway venue after 15 long months in the wilderness of delivering monologues and conducting interviews without the feedback that comes from working in front of a crowd.

Dressed in a sharply creased dark gray suit, in contrast to the plaids and Pendletons he favored during the pandemic, Colbert, 57, bounds onto the stage on the evening of June 21, minutes before the taping starts, high-kicking and punching the air with abandon. “The Late Show” house band punctuates his every move with a cacophony of sound. The fans roar. Colbert revels in a prolonged standing ovation — but in an instant, he switches gears to avuncular as he instructs the live audience to watch the prerecorded cold open on the monitors about the stage.

“Thank you so much for being here,” Colbert says, propping himself on the edge of the desk where he and his guest, actor Andrew Garfield, will soon banter. “I’m not over it. I’m not over having live audiences. The energy you give us lets us do a better show for you.”

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Mary Ellen Matthews for Variety

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